Abstract
Citation constitutes one of the most important components of text in all mass media, allowing for the concretization of events and serving to enhance media authenticity. The aim of this work is to study the structural features of the citation technique across headlines in the electronic editions of five leading Spanish mass media outlets between 2010 and 2018. Determined for the purpose of the study were the forms and frequency of three types of citation – direct, indirect and mixed – along with the structural features of the methods by which citation is integrated into a newspaper text. The conducted content analysis demonstrates that citation-driven headlines account for 15% of the total processed corpus and also clarifies the prevalence of direct citation (53%) among the three types. The division of source texts into two groups enables us to distinguish implicit citation as a special type tasked with citing the precedent text. In addition, three primary predicate groups are singled out: declarative, explicative and evaluative. These serve to introduce direct and indirect citations. The analysis of the narrating remark highlights the importance of the pragmatic function of citation in a newspaper text. The study confirms the significance and relevance of employing citation in headlines in the Spanish press and provides insight into the phenomenon of reported speech and the function of citation in mass media.
Highlights
Mass media texts constitute a social phenomenon in the system of social control and play a leading role in employing language as a tool of influence
The selected citation classification system leads the author to the following results: media headlines are especially valuable for the study of reported speech, since it is encountered in more than 60% of them; the percentage ratio between the 4 declared citation forms is as follows: 61,2% - indirect citation, 23,6% - narrated discourse, 12% - direct citation, 3,2% - mixed forms
Citation in article headlines plays a major role in fulfilling that goal
Summary
Mass media texts constitute a social phenomenon in the system of social control and play a leading role in employing language as a tool of influence. By informing people of the global state of affairs and filling up their spare time, mass media outlets impact their entire mindset and style of worldview – and through that – the type of contemporary culture. This contemporary culture is characterized by the immediacy and transience of information, its ideology-driven nature, the rise of specific language and synchronous simplicity of perceiving mass media texts, which claim to be the absolute truth
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